MSG profit falls as NBA lockout takes toll

The Madison Square Garden Co. said Wednesday that the shortened NBA season drove its second-quarter profit down nearly 22 percent.

The lockout delayed the start of the regular basketball season by about two months. As a result, the New York Knicks only played a combined six preseason and regular season games during the quarter, compared with 40 in the same period last year, cutting into its revenue.

Madison Square Garden, which owns several sports franchises, sports networks and entertainment venues, reported that it earned $25.6 million, or 33 cents per share, for the quarter that ended Dec. 31. That’s down from $32.7 million, or 42 cents per share, in the same quarter last year. Revenue fell nearly 14 percent to $373 million.

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Up until Feb. 2010, MSG was a subsidiary of Bethpage-based Cablevision Systems. It is still controlled by the Dolan family, which owns also Cablevision, but is a separate entity.

The decline in revenue was almost entirely due the NBA work stoppage, which sent its MSG Sports segment revenue down 31 percent. The company also saw a smaller 15 percent decrease in MSG Entertainment revenue due to the absence of a Cirque de Soleil performance that wrapped up in 2010, which was partially offset by holiday performances.

The company’s media segment revenue fell 1.2 percent due to lower advertising revenue tied to fewer NBA games being televised on its network and the expiration of an affiliate agreement.